Sweet Architect
by Elise-Collier
Summary: A brief, one-shot expansion of a particular scene in Fallen Kingdom. Spoilers for the movie and references/mild spoilers to The Evolution of Claire. Spiritual (& possible literal) sequel to my previous, music-inspired one-shot, River: Holiday in Blue. The soundtrack for my Clawen heart is ever-expanding.


_**Consider this a sequel to**_ **River: Holiday in Blue** _ **. I mean to write a multi-chapter**_ **Fallen Kingdom** _ **-inspired fic (once all my thoughts on the movie and**_ **The Evolution of Claire** _ **have settled), but I was too inspired by this song. I had to write, as I was compelled to write**_ **River** _ **. Music has always brought me closer to Clawen. I hope you enjoy it, even if you don't know Emily Sandé or her evocative song. I kept book spoilers to a minimum, for those who haven't read it yet.**_

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Claire could barely keep her eyes open. The adrenaline that had been surging since they were locked inside the bunker finally died down, and her body was telling her to rest. She turned her head to the left and saw Franklin curled into the fetal position in a corner of the truck with his eyes closed. Owen was close to her side, but their bodies were not touching. She could feel his familiar heat radiating off him. His musky scent - though somewhat masked by the pungent smell of _T. rex_ bodily fluids - was there, too. He was already asleep. Claire knew this without a second thought. His nocturnal breathing patterns were like a metronome for her. They had lulled her into deep, restorative sleep on countless occasions. Occasions when she might not otherwise thought sleep was possible. Nights when her mind raced; his peace absorbed her. She always marveled at that.

Claire lingered on his profile. He was the most attractive man she'd ever met. And she'd more than met him. She knew him, in every sense of the word. She allowed herself in this moment to admit that she missed him. Every inch and bit of him. Her body and mind forgot nothing. When he took her hand during the sprint down the plain, it was the most natural thing in the world. It was as if nothing had changed and no time had passed since the last time they were running through the jungles of Isla Nublar. Since they had clung together symbiotically for two years. While they ran for their lives, she didn't have the time to think about it or savor his firm grip. She wished he was still holding on to her. Now that he was sitting so close but not touching her, she craved the feel of him.

She recognized his own cravings all day. Stolen glances in the plane, the armored truck, and the bunker. She liked the way he smiled at her when they collected the blood. Claire had worked so hard to keep her own tumultuous emotions in check. She was focused on the mission and the dinosaurs that had been her crusade for the last year. She had replaced Owen with them. She moved forward while he seemed to have moved backward. She didn't think she was ready to forgive him for that. To let him back in. Until now. That warm, bubbly feeling in the pit of her stomach that only two men had ever elicited in her - one for a very brief time and the other for much longer - came roaring back. It made her blush and smile to herself. She forgot that she was being watched.

Claire snapped out of Owen's spell at the sound of a familiar melody. She turned her head to see Zia smirking while she hummed. The stethoscope settled around the vet's neck, she had finally removed her hands from her patient. Zia's eyes were alight as they stared down Claire, who smiled back at her friend. Claire first heard the song after a late night of stuffing envelopes and designing flyers at the DPG offices. Zia kept a stack of CDs in her desk drawer and had previously lectured Claire on the lost art of the album. How she hated singles and preferred to listen to CDs start to finish, as certain, elevated artists intended. Claire usually rolled her eyes but enjoyed Zia's passion. That particular night, Emeli Sandé's _Long Live the Angels_ was playing through. Zia stepped out to use the restroom, and Claire's ears pricked up at track 11. She was caught with tear-streaked cheeks when Zia returned. At the time, the younger woman let it go and said nothing.

Zia finally addressed it when they waited outside the charter. She voiced frustration about Owen not joining them. Claire offhandedly commented on his being too busy building his cabin. She felt a sting of regret at its sight and the memory of a conversation. Pillow talk about their future. Not so long ago - or so it seemed - he had promised to build her a home. It was the sweetest offer anyone ever made her. At the time, they were love drunk and stupidly happy after settling with Masrani Corp. He wanted to use the money for their nest egg and literally start their new life from scratch. She felt blessed. When Mt Sibo began to stir, she tucked that feeling away. There was something more important to do. Or so she thought.

"So, he's an architect, too?" Zia had said with a wink and a sassy smile. Claire's teeth clenched. She wasn't ready for such a conversation. Franklin was too busy reorganizing the items in his pack to pay attention to them. "Don't" was all Claire had said, almost under her breath, and Zia just sighed. That exchange now seemed as far in the past as the park. The air outside the truck was now filled with small noises - prominently animals rustling and water lapping - but, inside, Claire only heard Zia's hum transform into quiet, calming verse.

 _My bones are heavy and my soul's a mess_

 _Come find my address_

 _And build me up build me up_

Zia transitioned in and out of humming, always skipping the song's title words. Perhaps she worried that Owen would wake and question. Maybe that was only Claire's fear. The words resonated like never before. It went beyond a deja vu sensation. More so than before, it was as if the song was meant for her. And him.

 _I've been lonely since the day you left_

 _Come find my address_

 _And build me up build me up_

 _Yeah we're still here_

 _And we're still breathing_

 _Knee deep with a deep needing_

 _We stay brave though we've been damaged_

' _Cause most got a heart, but some savage_

 _Dear heaven, I hope you're up to something_

' _Cause, dear heaven, this just can't be for nothing_

 _We're still here and we're still breathing_

 _We're still here_

Claire felt her chest start to heave. Her eyes began to tickle. Tear ducts ready to burst. Zia noticed this reaction and stopped singing. She looked at her boss pityingly. Claire didn't want that and closed her eyes, but the song continued to play in her head.

 _See, we got deep love_

 _But it's a deeper ocean_

 _Dear God, help us keep floating_

 _Some choke and some panic_

 _See some got a boat but most haven't_

 _Dear heaven, you know we're try-na make it_

 _But, dear heaven, you know it's complicated_

 _We got deep love but it's a deeper ocean_

 _We got deep love..._

Claire owned the song, literally and figuratively. She had listened to it on repeat on lonely nights. She had convinced herself that they didn't have a boat. They were incompatible. They needed to go their separate ways. She was glad for the clean break. She was glad that he never came back. It proved her right. On those lonely nights, however, she sunk into a deep sadness over being right. She admitted that she didn't want to be right about them. She wanted him to come running back to her. To prove that he was the better man she knew him to be. The man she loved. She never told him, but he must've known. She hoped he knew. Her tears flowed the longest when she ruminated on that very hope. Maybe it's why he never came back. Maybe, if she'd verbalized it, he would've come back. Why had she never told him?

Lying beside him once more, Claire couldn't answer that question. It was true that she'd never said it to anyone other than her family, but that wasn't the reason. She remained at war with herself. Her walking contradictions. Her righteousness and ruthlessness. Her strength and her frailty. She strove her whole life to be the boss. To protect and find solutions. It had isolated her. It had turned her away from Owen. It made her believe that the dinosaurs were more worth fighting for than he was. A profound sense of guilt settled in her gut. Greater even than the survivor's guilt she couldn't shake for fourteen years. Claire found something with Owen that she never had before, but she didn't truly appreciate it. Didn't nurture it. Didn't fight for it while he lived. It was easier to believe that he was dead to her.

They had now cheated death together twice. They were still alive for a reason. Something powerful happened when they worked together. It was incomprehensible but reassuring. It reminded her of the past and gave her hope for the future. She opened her eyes to gaze at him again. Serenity washed over her. The place she once viewed as her destiny - her home - was gone. Perhaps this was why she struggled with Owen: he couldn't possibly live up to that standard, couldn't possibly be home for her like that. No. He could be better. He lightened her bones and cheered her soul. He was more real than the island. Especially now. The island gave him to her, a parting gift after everything it took.

Claire sighed and saw with her peripheral vision that Zia was leaning back, eyes closed and arms crossed over her chest. Everyone was in repose. Now, Claire could join them. She leaned into her metronome and felt his calming strength. Whatever tomorrow brought, they could face it. Her sweet architect was building her back up. It wasn't too late for her to do the same for him.

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 _ **Thanks for reading and please share your reactions to this short piece.**_


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